Steve Round has claimed that Sam Allardyce is good enough to steer Everton into the top six of the Premier League.
The former Crystal Palace boss has been touted as a possible candidate for the full-time vacancy left by Ronald Koeman.
Recent reports have claimed that Allardyce, who quit the Eagles at the end of last season to have some time away from football, has already held talks with the Merseyside outfit.
Round, who worked under the 63-year-old at Newcastle United in 2007, believes that the Englishman could be the perfect fit for the Toffees.
"I think Everton is a club that he would feel he could take to the top six, maybe even the top four, with the backing and the moving into new stadium, it'd be a very, very exciting project for him and I think it would have taken something like that to bring him out of retirement, so to speak," Sky Sports News quotes Round as saying.
The blue half of Merseyside find themselves just two points above the relegation zone after only winning three of their 11 league fixtures.
Danielle Joynson
